Rakim

RAKIM全称Rakim Allah，原名William Michael Griffin Jr. ，1968年1月28日出生于纽约长岛，黑人说唱歌手。
 
1968年1月28日出生的Rakim出生并在纽约长岛成长，他的饶舌才能也是在那儿发展起来的。由于他是R&B 巨星Ruth Brown的侄子, Rakim在年轻的时候就活跃在纽约的HIP HOP舞台。1984年的时候他成为了The Nation of Gods and Earths的一员，并且取艺名Rakim Allah。
 
1985年Rakim结识了搭档并结为组合Eric B and Rakim，当即就成为了在Hip Hop历史上最有名和又影响力的组合之一。在Rakim开始登上舞台之前，Hip Hop的押韵仍旧保持著传统的方式，用简单的歌词，带有统一的强烈的韵，在每一个传统的长度和位置上押韵（代表人物Run DMC , Kurtis Blow)。于其形成鲜明对比的是Rakim，他尝试著在萨克斯爵士乐伴奏的情况下形成自己的押韵风格。The All Music Guide作者Steve Huey曾说道，akim的 flow平稳得像缓缓的流水，加上受到爵士乐押韵的影响，带有毫不费力的爽快，听起来觉得他根本都没有疲劳过。他将MC的技术提高到了一个前所未有的高度。Rakim比喻的修辞方式和一大段式（相比于以前的过去简单的歌词版式）的歌词相当的有影响力。Pitchfork Media 批评家Jess Harvell在2005年提到，Rakim的创新是让人们接受了说唱中的令知识分子最感到可怕的内容：尽说些关于你说唱水平比别人厉害的内容，而Rakim本人就是rapping-about-rapping的最高诠释者。而实际上尽管在歌曲主题的外表下有很多更深层的隐喻的意思在里面。简单的说，Rakim就像是个精神道德上的老师，而听众就像是学生，而他在歌曲中diss的说唱歌手们就像是那些于真理为敌于智慧为敌的愚昧的人们。在动乱的80年代和90年代早期的纽约借都，很多歌手都把传播精神道德的道理座作为自己创作的内容，而Rakim则是用他字面字外的强大语言武器，当之无愧的站在了最前线。
 
”Scientists try to solve the context, Philosophers are wondering what’s next. Pieces are took to labs to observe them, They couldn’t absorb them, they didn’t deserve them; my ideas are only for the audience’s ears, for my opponents it might take years” -Rakim, Don’t Sweat The technique (1991).
 
“科学家在解释已有的规律，哲学家在考虑未来的关系，一点点的细枝末节被他们翻来覆去的研究，他们不能理解，他们不配理解。我的目的仅仅是为了满足听众的耳朵，而我的对手们却为此苦苦思索若干年。”
 
by Steve Huey
 
Although he never became a household name, Rakim is near-universally acknowledged as one of the greatest MCs — perhaps the greatest — of all time within the hip-hop community. It isnt necessarily the substance of what he says thats helped him win numerous polls among rap fans in the know; the majority of his lyrics concern his own skills and his Islamic faith. But in terms of how he says it, Rakim is virtually unparalleled. His flow is smooth and liquid, inflected with jazz rhythms and carried off with an effortless cool that makes it sound as though hes not even breaking a sweat. He raised the bar for MC technique higher than it had ever been, helping to pioneer the use of internal rhymes — i.e., rhymes that occurred in the middle of lines, rather than just at the end. Where many MCs of the time developed their technique through improvisational battles, Rakim was among the first to demonstrate the possibilities of sitting down and writing intricately crafted lyrics packed with clever word choices and metaphors (of course, he also had the delivery to articulate them). Even after his innovations were worshipfully absorbed and expanded upon by countless MCs who followed, Rakims early work still sounds startlingly fresh, and his comeback recordings (beginning in the late 90s) only added to his legend.
 
Rakim was born William Griffin, Jr. on January 28, 1968, in the Long Island suburb of Wyandanch. The nephew of 50s R&B legend Ruth Brown, Griffin was surrounded by music from day one, and was interested in rap almost from its inception. At age 16, he converted to Islam, adopting the Muslim name Rakim Allah. In 1985, he met Queens DJ Eric B., whose intricately constructed soundscapes made an excellent match for Rakims more cerebral presence on the mic. With the release of their debut single, Eric B. Is President, in 1986, Eric B. & Rakim became a sensation in the hip-hop community, and their reputation kept growing as they issued classic tracks like I Aint No Joke and Paid in Full. Their first two full-length albums, 1987s Paid in Full and 1988s Follow the Leader, are still regarded as all-time hip-hop classics; Rakims work set out a blueprint for other, similarly progressive-minded MCs to follow, and helped ensure that even after the rise of other fertile scenes around the country, East Coast rap would maintain a reputation as the center of innovative lyrical technique. The last two Eric B. & Rakim albums, 1990s Let the Rhythm Hit Em and 1992s Dont Sweat the Technique, werent quite as consistent as their predecessors, but still had plenty of fine moments.
 
Unfortunately, their legacy stopped at four albums. Both Eric B. and Rakim expressed interest in recording solo albums to one another, but the former, fearful of being abandoned by his partner when their contract was up, refused to sign the release. That led to their breakup in 1992, and Rakim spent a substantial amount of time in the courts, handling the legal fallout between himself, his ex-partner, and their ex-label, MCA. His only solo output for a number of years was the track Heat It Up, featured on the 1993 soundtrack to the Mario Van Peebles film Gunmen. Moreover, a reshuffling at MCA effectively shut down production on Rakims solo debut, after hed recorded some preliminary demos. Finally, Rakim got a new contract with Universal, and toward the end of 1997 he released his first solo record, The 18th Letter (early editions contained the bonus disc Book of Life, a fine Eric B. & Rakim retrospective). Anticipation for The 18th Letter turned out to be surprisingly high, especially for a veteran rapper whose roots extended so far back into hip-hop history; yet thanks to Rakims legendary reputation, it entered the album charts at number four, and received mostly complimentary reviews. His follow-up, The Master, was released in 1999 and failed to duplicate its predecessors commercial success, barely debuting in the Top 75. Moreover, while The Master received positive reviews in some quarters, others seemed disappointed that Rakims comeback material wasnt reinventing the wheel the way his early work had, and bemoaned the lack of unity among his array of different producers. Seeking to rectify the latter situation, Rakim signed with Dr. Dres Aftermath label in 2001, and the two began recording a new album early the next year, to be titled Oh My God. In the meantime, to help heighten anticipation for the summit between two legends, Rakim guested on the single Addictive by female R&B singer and Aftermath labelmate Truth Hurts; Addictive hit the Top Ten in the summer of 2002, marking the first time Rakim had visited that territory since he and Eric B. appeared on Jody Watleys Friends in 1989.